


Tradition

by firelordizumi



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 04:45:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4990780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelordizumi/pseuds/firelordizumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mai looks to the past to give Izumi some motherly advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tradition

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on 5/29/15 to fill the prompt of the same name for Royal Family Week on tumblr.

Some traditions in the household evolved without proclamation or fanfare, and those were the ones that Mai infinitely preferred.

On Izumi’s first day of school, Mai cancelled one of her appointments so she could be there to greet her daughter when she came home. She also ordered a pot of tea and a small assortment of cakes for the occasion, which a servant also delivered, unprompted, the next day. As weeks and years went by, schedules adjusted accordingly, and this became a standing date between mother and daughter, a way to learn what they missed in each other’s absence, as well as a chance to steal a few moments for themselves in the midst of perpetually crowded lives.

The routine of it never became boring because there was no predicting what mood Izumi would be in when she arrived. Some days she brimmed with excitement as she recounted what she learned, who she talked to, what they talked about, the drumming of her fingers against her teacup only audible when she paused to catch her breath. Some days were calmer. The conversation flowed more smoothly, or barely at all, the young princess being simply content to have her mother’s company. And other days still, everything about her became pointed and sullen, making Mai brace herself for the onset of Izumi’s teenage years. This day in particular looked like it was going to fall under the final category. Even before Mai looked up from the report she was reading and saw the stormy expression on Izumi’s face, she heard the thud of what sounded a satchel being dropped with no small amount of force.

“How was school, turtleduck?” Mai asked, pretending she hadn’t noticed.

“Awful.” Izumi reached for a plate and began loading it with pastries, without paying much attention to the distribution or the quantity of her selection.

“Want to tell me about it?”

Mai barely had time to finish her question before Izumi’s response came tumbling out. “Kenzo won’t leave me alone and he keeps trying to steal my glasses and he threw mud all over my new training outfit during group practice today and I’m just so sick of it!”

Mai was much better at remembering the names of Izumi’s classmates’ parents than the names of the classmates themselves, but this one had been mentioned enough to stick.

“Does he stop when you ask him to?” she asked.

“Only when I threaten to arrest him.” 

“I see.” Mai made a mental note to verify that some obscure statute granting her eight-year-old full authority go around arresting people did not, in fact, exist. She had come to learn it was best to nip these things in the bud whenever possible.

“Why does he keep doing stuff like this?”

“How should I know?” Mai shrugged her shoulders before moving to pour the tea. “I’m not a mind reader. If it bothers you so much, you should really ask him yourself.”

Izumi looked as if Mai had suggested the pair of them move to Ba Sing Se and spend the rest of their days cleaning up after King Kuei’s ridiculous bear. “No thank you,” she replied firmly, before taking a rather aggressive bite of custard tart.

Mai’s suspicions about the direction this conversation was taking now all but confirmed, the only thing left to do was wait. She could easily manage that.

And yet it did not take long at all before Izumi blurted out “What if he says he likes me or something? That’s what it means when boys do things like that, right?”

“Sometimes,” Mai said, nodding slightly.

“That’s stupid.”

“I agree with you. But sometimes when you want someone to pay attention to you like that, it’s the only thing that gets results.”

Izumi lifted her chin to meet her mother’s gaze as Mai set her face into a practiced neutrality. It did not take long before understanding dawned.

“Is that what Dad did when you were my age?”

Mai relished the few moments of silence before she answered. “Who said anything about your father?”

“You were the one throwing mud at him?” Izumi asked, her eyes widening in delight.

“Let me tell you something Izumi, your father will say he was just trying to be a gentleman, but the simple fact is he never had the guts. As for myself, well, how do you think I first learned to aim?”

“And it worked?”

It had been years, but Mai could remember the flicker of childish pride like it was yesterday. “What do you think?” she asked, her hint of a smile widening.

Izumi picked up her teacup in both hands and shook her head. “You guys are weird,” she said, smiling back all the same.


End file.
